Shiny Toy Guns

April 9, 2009 – Delivering glittering, synth-tinged rock with attitude in all the right places, Shiny Toy Guns threw down an infectiously energetic set that brought the dance party to the sold-out crowd at the Pageant.

Photographer's Notes:

I had the pleasure of photographing Shiny Toy Guns back in 2006, when the band opened for the Sounds in NYC. When I heard that the band was touring again, I knew it was time to throw down.

For this gig, Shiny Toy Guns certainly brought one of the more interesting lighting setups that I've seen, with LED arrays on either side of the stage, massive bursts from stage-mounted hazers, and cross-lighting for the lead singers. Add to this a little judicious use of flash from yours truly, and there's a whole lot going on in front of the lens. This, of course, before we even factor in a well-tuned four-piece bringing the dance party.

For singer Chad Petree, the personal mini-spots on either side of him worked perfectly, as his duties on guitar and vocals kept him well in the beams of the lights.

Sisely Treasure, on the other hand, with no mic stand to keep her tethered, was a much more mercurial target, and flirted with the setup without really receiving the same well-intended benefit.

Mikey Martin on drums is such a kinetic force, I was a little disappointed that he was shrouded in thick haze for most of the shoot. Alright, and I admit, I'm kicking myself a little for not working him a little more, especially since he kit was setup right at the front of the stage.

Jeremy Dawson switched between synth and bass, and I found that he was easiest to photograph on the latter, for which he mostly rocked out at the back of the stage near the speaker stacks.

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I really, really like your work, but why do you rely on slanting the camera so much? A 30-45 degree angle just disorients the viewer without adding anything other than gimmick. I feel if there were a really exciting moment, then it would better shine through if the camera weren’t tilted bizarrely, and if there weren’t a really exciting moment, then it might not have been worth uploading.

The pictures you have from normal vertical/horizontal tilts are pretty astounding. I just wish there were more of them.

While I do find some people overuse tilting (I have been guilty myself in the past) I don’t find the tilt in any of the images in this set the least distracting.

Also, is adding interest to an otherwise uninteresting subject using a photographic technique really such a bad thing? I kind of thought that was one of the whole reasons we as photographers take pictures. Looking at a subject in a new/interesting way is part of the whole joy of viewing images and in my opinion can hardly be construed as a “gimmick.”

The tilting has not bothered me, and many times, I think is part of the photos appeal. Shooting at the edge of the stage, it often seems you need some tilt to get a satisfying image without a monitor or stand in the way.

A question about flash. It seems “no flash” is an almost universal rule in performance photography. How do you get around that?

Overusing one single technique is never a good thing, but I don’t think thats the case here. Being aware of theories like the golden triangle certainly can make a difference between a decent photo and an amazing photo.

Rich – you get a 50mm f/1.4. If you want to get around not being able to use a flash by using a flash, you will get a publicist/performer/security guard’s foot in your ass. There’s really nothing you can’t shoot at f/1.4 3200 ISO. If you have a full-frame sensor, get the 85mm f/1.2

12 of the 14 pictures in this are tilted. It works very, very well in the 14th picture. I am not sure it adds to the other 11. That is overusing. Again, this guy is a very, very badass photographer. I just want an opinion of a guy that good as to why this would be done to 85% of shots.

Taylor, of course, and with a lot of stage lighting you don’t have to get that high in ISO or low in f-stop. Others, not so much. I was referencing Todd’s statement in No. 10 that he did use flash on some of these shots, and I noted he’s used it in other concert shots. So, I was curious as to how he got around the general “no flash” rules. ~ Rich

i’ll throw in my two cents on tilting, too. personally, i’ve always thought the use of the dutch angle is much more effective as a video technique. i don’t so much mind it in performance photography, but where i really think it’s awful is in wedding and portrait photography. in my own photography i’m pretty ocd about straight lines and such (the main reason i bought that type e screen for my d3), so i try to use that to my advantage (just like any other tool out there). ultimately it’s a wholly artistic decision, one which i usually choose not to take.

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